The award was presented during the annual ACWA Spring Conference & Exhibition in Monterey, where more than 1,500 local water officials are gathered through Friday for programs and panel discussions on a variety of key water issues, including drought. The Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority was selected from among four finalists to receive the award.

"The Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority's fish passage improvement project is a stellar example of a local agency developing creative, collaborative solutions to manage California's water resources," said ACWA President John Coleman. "The project helps to ensure economic sustainability while practicing innovative environmental stewardship."

The Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority worked in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to creatively build a project to protect fish while also providing reliable water deliveries. Using $113 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, the Authority constructed a state-of-the-art fish passage project that includes a positive barrier fish screen almost a quarter of a mile long. Since its completion in 2012, the project has provided unimpeded fish passage for threatened species while allowing the Authority to supply water to its 17 districts.

ACWA's Clair A. Hill Water Agency Award for Excellence is an annual award program that recognizes outstanding achievements by public water agencies. The winning agency has the honor of awarding a $5,000 scholarship to a deserving student in the name of Clair A. Hill, founder of the consulting engineering firm CH2M Hill.

Other finalists for this year's award were:

Irvine Ranch Water District, for its Strand Ranch Water Banking Project which captures and stores surplus water available in wet years for use in drought or other times of shortage. The project allows for the recovery of up to 17,500 acre-feet of banked groundwater in any single year.

Mojave Water Agency, for its Regional Recovery and Recharge Project, which is a conjunctive use project that stores State Water Project water in the local aquifer and later recovers and distributes the water as a potable supply for local purveyors in the High Desert Region of Southern California.

Water Replenishment District of Southern California, for its for Water Independence Now -- or WIN -- program. The WIN program is a suite of projects that bolsters the district's local water supply and eliminates the need for imported water for groundwater replenishment. WIN projects include an advanced water treatment plant in Long Beach and a desalter in Torrance.

ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose 430 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more information, visit www.acwa.com.